Nothing I Expected
by PerennialOutlander
Summary: Sam encounters love at first sight, but when his family is at the core of their latest mission, she has to fight between her heart & her mind. SamxOC. SS.
1. Prologue

Nothing I Expected

* * *

Disclaimer: Manhattan productions are the sole owner and distributor of Totally Spies.

Disclaimer: Concept, ideas and OCs all belong to me, UID 140135

* * *

_Prologue_

3 YEARS AGO

The warehouse stood silent, an unwelcome host of things occurring within. Kin was about to be turned inside out by one man's ideals, one man's inner thoughts, his insane sanctum.

The atmosphere inside was bitterly cold, almost below freezing cold zero. It was completely pitch-black, nothing could be seen, not even the tip of one's nose. It was suffocating, repressive to the lone captive, struggling through their bonds, choking screams through an oil-lined gag. Their head reeled as the fumes rose up through their nose and finally into their skull. Their head swooned, rolling down their shoulder and resting on their chest.

At this angle, the mummified body was at the perfect position. Finally knocked out by the addictive fumes, the green-eyed view could see. A rubber-gloved hand adjusted the night-vision goggles, and then shook with a silent, joyful chuckle. The gloved hand pushed a lever that began the countdown. The mummified, unisex body began to steadily sink into a tank full of blue, gelatinous liquid, sparking with electricity.

With the body fully submerged, a tube was inserted and a black gas was pumped into the liquid, first as bubbles that then broke before reaching the surface. An instantaneous reaction was set off. Indigo-coloured streaks of lightning broke out in the vat, striking the body and glowing around it before exiting and bouncing off the surface of the glass and back again to form tangled prisms of indigo something.

The tank began to shake with the mounting energy. The goggled madman began to laugh: first low, then broad and bellowing, hysterical with glee as the process neared its end. His experiment was about to be complete, the world was about to change! For the good of man!

"What are ye doing to my child! Stop this, stop this now!" a female voice shouted as the warehouse was suddenly flooded with light. He continued to laugh, but becoming silent with his triumph.

"THAT is the beginning of the new world order! I will turn the chaos of this world into order once again!" he screamed before vanishing. The soldiers that had started to sneak up on him stood baffled. The woman rushed past them, pulling the levers, screaming at them to break the glass-tank. Hesitant, but then rushing as the body inside began to spasm. Police batons, the butts of rifles, machetes were all used to break the glass that first crackled, splintered, cracked and then broke, flooding the contents harmlessly across the floor and the men's boots.

The woman rushed into the mess to the fallen body, much smaller than her own. Blue liquid staining her white doctor's coat, she picked it up and cradled it in her arms. The bandages slipped from the face, and she saw a strained, boyish grin on a thirteen year-old's face. Tears slipped from her eyes as the soldiers around her became quiet in sympathy.

**To be continued…**


	2. Chapter 1

Nothing I Expected

* * *

Disclaimer: Manhattan productions are the sole owner and distributor of Totally Spies.

Disclaimer: Concept, ideas and OCs all belong to me, UID 140135

* * *

_Chapter 1_

BEVERLY HILLS HIGH, 12:22 PM, THURSDAY 20 JULY

"OH MY GOSH, HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEW HOTTIE ON CAMPUS, HE JUST TRANSFERRED, HE'S SO CUTE!" a really high-pitched Clover squealed at Sam and Alex as she joined them at lunch. The only reactions she got out of her friends was a raised eyebrow from Sam as she continued to read her 19th century literature textbook and an extra large slurp from Alex and her milkshake. Crestfallen, Clover slid into her seat.

"What's with you guys? Didn't you just hear me say there's a new hunk on campus? Hello?" she called, waving a hand in front of Sam's nose. Sam slammed her book closed.

"So what, Clover? Neither of us is going to have a chance with him with you around!" she snapped. She shoved her book back into her bag, grabbed her lunch tray and stalked off. Clover watched her as she walked off, her mouth wide open. She turned to Alex, who just shrugged while slurping her drink.

"Did I miss something?" she asked. Alex stopped, and then sighed.

"I don't know what's up with her lately. She's been so quiet, so-"

"un-Sam," Clover finished for her.

"Yeah, that's it!" Alex said excitedly. Clover rolled her eyes.

* * *

Sam sat in the library, silently angry at herself, at a table opposite the history section. The bell rang for next period so she stayed where she was for study hall, while other students ran out and in.

She hadn't been feeling right. She had a guess that it had to do with being cooped up with Alex and Clover almost 24/7. Maybe it had to do with her not having a boyfriend. She sighed, staring at the 20th century woodblock print on the page she was reading, not really taking it in. _I think I'm lonely, pure and simple,_ she thought to the picture.

"Excuse me, can ye please help me?" a soft voice whispered. She looked up, startled out of her funk. Her breath hitched when she looked at the boy standing in front of her. He was breathtakingly gorgeous. Sapphire-blue eyes stared at her through long black lashes, an ivory complexion surrounded by loose chocolate-brown hair reaching beyond his shoulders. He mistook her look at his hair as disapproval, immediately fumbling for something in his back pocket.

"Uh, sorry, I'll just tie this back now," he stuttered as he nimbly tied his hair back. "I thought that since this was an American school that there was nigh a dress-code," he explained softly through a Scottish accent. Sam felt her face redden to the shade of hair.

"There, there isn't actually," she stammered. He eyed her in confusion.

"Then why the look?" he asked, watching her blush an even deeper of red. He grinned.

"It's my accent, right?" he said seriously. Sam looked at him.

"What?"

"My accent. It's put your knickers in a twist, hasn't it?" he continued seriously. He watched as her face went from self-conscious to anger, enjoying trying to banter her into a confession of staring.

"Serves ye right for making me put my hair up. Can I get your help now, or should I find someone less flabbergasted by me?" he said teasingly. Sam didn't know what to say, she was so confused and tongue-tied by his run-arounds.

"Can ye help me tae find 'Paradise Lost'? I cannae remember the author and your book says ye know more than the rest of these bodies." He smiled at her, once again friendly.

And excessively cute. Sam couldn't help but melt.

"I'm Gabriel King," he said by way of introduction, holding out a hand. She took it, letting him pull her to her feet.

"Sam Simpson."

* * *

**Di di di di di di!**

"Hey Jerry, what's up?" Alex said happily as the halo image popped up.

"Bad news, I'm afraid. Several important women have disappeared in the last forty-eight hours. I need you girls to investigate this immediately. By the way, where's Sam?" he enquired, peering from Alex to Clover.

"Study hall," Clover replied. Jerry nodded, before opening a WOOHP tunnel underneath them.

* * *

"What's that funny noise?" he asked her as she just stood up from the desk. She looked towards her bag, a bead of sweat popping up on her forehead. Before she knew it, a WOOHP tunnel opened underneath her, sucking Gabriel with her into it. A flurry of pages was left behind.

"What's going on?" he yelled past the turbulent wind of the tunnel. Sam's reply was snatched away by the whooshing air. Then with a yelp, she landed on the couch with the other girls, Gabriel landing with a wincing thud on his back on the floor in front of them.

"IT'S THE NEW HOTTIE! Wait, why was he with you?" Clover asked Sam accusingly.

"Oh dear, another drop-in," was all Jerry could say. Gabriel opened his eyes, wincing as he sat up. He looked at the girls, then slowly to Jerry. His eyes lit up in recognition, then instantly blanked. He looked back to Sam, who was looking at him with a stunned look on her face.

"Sam? Where are we?"

**To be continued…**


	3. Chapter 2

Nothing I Expected

* * *

Disclaimer: Manhattan productions are the sole owner and distributor of Totally Spies.

Disclaimer: Concept, ideas and OCs all belong to me, UID 140135

* * *

_Chapter 2_

"There's no time for explanations, young man. Besides, we will be erasing your memory soon," Jerry replied, interrupting Sam before she could answer. "Girls, as I said before in Sam's absence, a number of women have disappeared in the last forty-eight hours, key women noted for our world's advancement through recognition from the UN," he explained as their pictures, names and last-known positions were brought up on the screen behind him. Gabriel watched this with a dumbfounded look on his face, slowly getting to his feet.

"Of foremost importance, the Pentagon has contacted WOOHP personally as one of their newest and most brilliant scientists has vanished this morning, barely four hours ago. You will be investigating her home and last known position," he said as a picture of woman in her late-thirties popped up on the screen. Gabriel's eyes opened wide in shock as he shot up from the floor.

"That's my ma!" he exclaimed. Jerry's one eyebrow rose in surprise.

"Indeed?" he stated with interest. "Jeanie King is your mother?" Gabriel nodded, his face becoming ashen with each passing second that he looked at his mother's picture. Sam felt her heart plummet for him. Then she jumped in fright as Gabriel slammed his book-bag onto Jerry's desk.

"Ye have tae let me come with ye! What if she needs my help?" he said forcefully. Jerry stared at him for a second, and then nodded. He looked past Gabriel at the girls.

"Time to suit up. Son, come with me. I'll have Gladys do a quick adjustment on one of my spare watches for you to use," he said, his attention back on Gabriel. Gabriel followed him, sparing a glance back to Sam. She nodded encouragingly as Jerry led him to another room for the gadget modification.

* * *

THE ROAD TO JEANIE KING'S RESIDENCE, 13:10 PM, THURSDAY 20 JULY

"So," Clover whispered to Sam, "when did you two start dating?" she asked, glancing back at Gabriel, who was fiddling with the watch Jerry gave him. Sam grimaced before answering.

"It's not like that. He came up to me during study hall and asked if I knew where to find a copy of 'Paradise Lost'. He was just too…" here she began to blush, "close when the WOOHP tunnel opened." Clover harrumphed, clearly disgruntled. Sam continued to drive, relieved that Clover hadn't noticed her blushing.

"Then why are you blushing?" Alex asked, clueless as always. Sam cringed.

"AHA! You like him!" Clover squealed in triumph. Gabriel heard her squeal, looked at Sam in the rear-view mirror, an understanding and equally embarrassed look in his face. He looked as if he knew _exactly_ what she was going through.

"We're here," Alex called out.

* * *

KING RESIDENCE, 13:34 PM, THURSDAY 20 JULY

Gabriel unlocked the door, letting the spies enter before him. He followed behind quietly, shutting the door with a sad click. He stood to one side until they gave him the OK. The house was one of the smaller in Beverly Hills but just as roomy. What made this one lonely were the scattered boxes still taped up, with the hint of the unpacked in the few things arranged in the living room. Most were photographs. Gabriel picked up one and stared at it, stroking the frame absently. Sam startled him with a hand to the elbow, causing him to nearly drop it. She caught it with a deft hand, barely glancing at it and then taking a second look. In it was a younger Jeanie King with a young girl aged around thirteen, a feminine version of Gabriel. She looked at Gabriel, noting his intent look at her.

"My sister. She…went missing three years ago," he explained, hesitating for a minute. Sam handed it back to him, not really understanding the hesitation. Alex called from the top of the stairs, "All clear!" before coming down. Clover met up with them in the living room. Gabriel put the frame down discreetly.

"Nothing looks weird. Everything's just messy," Clover said. She looked at Gabriel, not noticing his look of embarrassment. Sam nudged her in the elbows.

"Is anything out of whack?" Alex asked. Gabriel shook his head.

"Everything's how I left it this morning. My ma and I haven't finished unpacking, what with just getting here a few days ago. Besides, we wanted tae paint the rooms afore doing anything major," Gabriel explained.

"Are you really Scottish?" Clover asked innocently.

"CLOVER!" Sam and Alex both shouted. Gabriel just blinked, a smirk barely visible on his face

"Sure as I last checked, Clover. Are ye crushing on me?" he asked back, just as innocently devilish. The other girls snickered behind their hands at Clover's reddening face.

Then, in unison, they heard two computers trilling,

"You've got mail."

"Upstairs," was all Gabriel said before rushing up the stairs. The girls followed behind, following his rush to a small room next to the master bedroom. He was already seated behind an old-fashioned writing desk and entering a password before they could stop him. He clicked the e-mail, opening the attachment. It called up an amateur-recorded video, shaky on the projection but dated three hours ago. The spies leaned in around him as the video filmed a line of woman tied from behind, all hanging from ceiling hooks, and all gagged. Gabriel began to cough, rubbing his throat as he watched the film. Sam subconsciously squeezed his shoulder. Alex grinned, watching from the corner of her eye. Then a countdown flashed on the screen, counting from 06:59:59.

Gabriel backed off from the computer, rushing to his own room, the attic. The girls were just climbing the stairs when he started reading his own e-mail.

"'join me, son. I have your mother as reparation for the damage she caused then. Join me willingly, and I'll let her be. Four hours left. Join me, and we can become a family again. You have the final word in this, Gabriel.'" They watched his back as he stood silent, staring at the screen. Without warning, he punched a hand through the monitor, sparks flying everywhere. The girls jumped in fright. Sam rushed forward, pulling his hand from the mess of glass and circuitry. His knuckles were bloody, but no fragments penetrated outwards; with faint burn marks on the back of his upper wrist. She watched his face as she took the bandage from Alex and began wrapping around his knuckles. It was a complete mask, totally void of emotion. He barely reacted when she tightened the knot.

"Why did you that Gabriel? We could've traced the e-mail from your modem," she told him, biting back her anger. He looked at her, eyes dark, then glanced down at his wounded hand.

"My ma always said that my temper would be the ruin of me. And it was," he said quietly. He looked back at her.

"We didnae need the computer, I know where they are."

**To be continued…**


	4. Chapter 3

Nothing I Expected

* * *

Disclaimer: Manhattan productions are the sole owner and distributor of Totally Spies.

Disclaimer: Concept, ideas and OCs all belong to me, UID 140135

* * *

_Chapter 3_

"What do you mean you know where they are?" Alex asked. He looked at her for a second before glancing back to Sam, his eyes seemingly drawn to her hidden anger. He struggled to answer, she could see it his eyes, a fight of two storms.

"My family has a cottage in Scotland, near the Coigach peaks. It's been abandoned for the past four years. My Da situated his lab there. That's where we'll find them." Flabbergasted, the girls just stood frozen.

"Have ye got a jet in your WOOHP?"

* * *

SOMEWHERE IN THE AIR OVER SCOTLAND, 08:02 AM, THURSDAY 20 JULY 

The ride to Scotland was silent. Gabriel had pointed out the route to the cottage on an aerial map and had then wrapped himself in his own silence. Sam, being the best pilot, had had no opportunity to coax more info from him, and Clover had, for once, acquiesced to her glare of silence.

What had got into him? She had only met him today, and she felt that already she could tell that this wasn't his normal behaviour. Morbid thoughts entered her mind. Was there something more than his anger to this story? She wondered…

And then they had arrived.

* * *

KING FAMILY COTTAGE, SCOTLAND, 08:27 AM, THURSDAY 20 JULY 

"I'll go first this time." Sam looked at the determined, grim set of his face and barely nodded. The other two stayed behind her as Gabriel entered the cottage alone.

"Da! I'm here, just like ye wanted!" he called out. His voice was swallowed up by the silence. "Let ma go! Ye promised me that much!" there was a moment of stillness. The floor suddenly bucked beneath them and Sam heard Gabriel scream "Nooo!" She heard Clover and Alex scream behind her before someone grabbed her roughly around the middle and jerked her inside.

She tumbled to the floor, knocking her head against the wooden leg of a chair; through her dizziness she heard struggling and she cracked her eyelids open, seeing Gabriel holding off three men in armoured gear. She tried to get up but felt herself falling to the floor. The last thing she saw was Gabriel going down too, a solid hit to his temple. Then there were just the stars in the sky…

A man in his forties stepped out of the shadows, leading another man, chained, gagged and dressed in a woman's suit, with a gun to the head, towards the bodies of his son and friend.

"We got them, sir," one of the soldiers said, pointing to their prone figures. He nodded, a sombre smile on his lips. Without warning, he cracked the butt of the revolver across the bound man's head, toppling him soundlessly to the ground. Calmly, he put the gun back in his holster and nodded to the three live bodies.

"Gather them up. I want my son and the redhead in a separate cell from his mother," he told them as each man picked up a body and tossed them over their shoulder.

"Hughes," he called. The man so named turned from his comrades and came back to his leader.

"Yes sir?"

"A reversal is in order. Bring him to the lab."

"Yes sir." He turned to leave again but then heard his leader call him again.

"Sir?"

"I want him awake."

"I'll make sure of it, sir."

* * *

CELL, UNKNOWN TIME 

Sam came to slowly, first hearing a muffled metallic clanging, and then light reached the back of her eyelids as she became conscious. Her head pounded from the knock on the chair. She opened her eyes just in time to see someone fall to the ground in defeat, hands still clinging to the bars of the cell door. She blinked hard, trying to dissipate the mist from her vision.

"Gabriel?" she whispered, her voice soft with the ache in her skull. The other captive's head rose and turned towards her. She could only make out the familiar sapphire-blue eyes. He was…afraid?

"Gabriel? What's wrong?" she asked, slowly pulling herself up in a sitting position against the flat wall. He sighed. It sounded so final. She watched as he scooted closer to her, the darkness around him fading very slightly as her eyes adjusted.

"Sam. Are ye alright?" he asked. She nodded, wincing as the movement caused the headache to spread down her neck. He reached out a hand, the back of his fingers touching her cheek. He pulled them away quickly, like he had been burned.

"My Da has changed my ma already. I dunnae know how badly she's been brainwashed, or if she even is. He's taken your friends, too. I dunnae what he'll do tae them," he told her in a low voice.

"What do you mean 'changed'?" he turned his body away from her, the light of his eyes taken away from the darkness surrounding them. She reached a hand out and gripped his shoulder. His back went ramrod straight before relaxing again.

"Sam, just listen, please? And then ye'll know."

"Okay," she whispered.

"My Da… he became sick, crazy, when I was nigh a wee child. I cannae even remember when it took him over. He was obsessed with the old ideals of the world. He started tae believe the world would be better with men back in control. My ma, she saw all this, but nay to such an extent it was. She divorced him when I was five, and that was when he disappeared. I was still young, I didnae understand the worry in her.

Because of her work, we moved around Europe quite a lot. I never lost my accent, quite tae her amazement." Sam grinned. Mothers were all so alike.

"When I was thirteen, we moved back tae Scotland. Back tae this very cottage. And then, and then… I dunnae want tae go on." He became silent. She felt the tension in his shoulder. She squeezed it to comfort him.

"Gabriel, you don't have to tell me anything if it hurts." He sighed.

"Sam? Do me a favour?" he pleaded quietly.

"What?"

"Close your eyes for a moment." She did, and there was a moment of complete stillness, like time had stopped for an instant.

And then his lips touched hers, caressing them like velvet across silk. She felt electricity running from them to her brain and across all her nerves. Her hands came up to touch his face, wanting more, but his hands gripped them before they reached their destination. He pressed harder against her lips, and then pulled away. Her heart thudded against her ribs.

"Keep your eyes closed till I finish, please." She let her hands be lowered by his.

"My Da had been developing a procedure tae let his twisted ideas enter the world. I was the one source of embarrassment in his life. He didnae want me as I was, so I became his first lab-rat.

He kidnapped me a week afore my fourteenth. He changed me halfway. I was what he wanted in physical form, but nigh mentally. My ma found me, but it was too late. She did all she could in Scotland, but had no knowledge as tae how tae change me back.

And now he's done it again." Her heart skipped a beat.

"Open your eyes." She did.

"And see the real me." He pulled her to the light shining through the bars and she swallowed a scream of despair.

**To be continued…**


	5. Chapter 4

Nothing I Expected

* * *

Disclaimer: Manhattan productions are the sole owner and distributor of Totally Spies.

Disclaimer: Concept, ideas and OCs all belong to me, UID 140135

* * *

_Chapter 4_

He wasn't him anymore. He wasn't what she knew. He wasn't even a 'him'.

He was the girl in the picture. It wasn't his 'sister'. It was him before his father had changed him.

His face was rounder, softer where the angles had been. His nose was more fey, the lips fuller. His eyes were shaped more like his mother's; the eyebrows had a curving arch to them. He was smaller, but fuller. His hips were wider, tight against the hem of his jeans. The shirt sagged and billowed around his thin waist, but was strained around his breasts. His hair had a slight curl to it.

But his eyes… they were the same. And right now, she knew that he was in worse pain than hers. But, oh God…

She dropped her hand, turning from Sam.

"Gabriel…" Sam whispered, reaching for his, her hand.

"as the chicken Ginger said, 'we've got tae get out of here'," she said with a faint stab at humour. She turned back to Sam, tears of an impossible wish glistening in her eyes.

"do ye know how tae pick a lock?" Sam swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, moving to the cell gate. Gabriel avoided her touch.

* * *

Gabriel seemed to know where she was going. Sam followed her unquestionably, forcing back tears that kept wanting to break out. Her head didn't understand why she was crying, but her heart did. As she and Gabriel snuck around a corner, she tried to make sense of it. When she had seen Gabriel, it had been like someone had answered her lonely wish: a boyfriend. She had only met him, her, today, or in the space of twenty-four hours since they had gone back in time to Scotland.

And she already liked him. A lot. Just the fact that he wanted 'Paradise Lost' spoke mountains. He was cute, just to add to his attractiveness.

And throughout the day, he had only impressed and interested her. his immediate order to help his mother, all his actions…the fact that he could tease Clover to a crimson blush was just an extra point towards him. even his temper and moody silence added to it.

So she knew that, in her heart, she really liked him. really really liked him.

And the kiss… he really liked her too.

But then her head was saying, in a rational manner, that she wasn't attracted to girls. She had never been, not in her entire life. and now here was her perfect guy. And he wasn't even true.

And she couldn't get the image of Gabriel out of her head when she had turned back to her. Gabriel was crying, on the inside and out. Gabriel was broken too, and these were cracks that had been mended already too many times. She was worried for her.

Gabriel shoved her back against the wall into the shadows as a guard made his rounds, and without warning, she had launched herself at him, taking him completely by surprise. She grappled silently with him, finally grabbing his gun and smacking it into his face. He fell to the ground, clutching at his nose that gushed blood, and she hit him again across the temple. He dropped to the ground. Breathing hard, she pulled his key card out from under him and handed it to Sam.

"let's go."

* * *

LAB #032, UNKNOWN TIME

They entered an empty lab, the lights buzzing. Everything looked as if it had abandoned in a hurry: computers had been left logged in, security monitors were still showing their respective prisoners and chemicals continued to process. Sam immediately went to the security monitors while Gabriel went to the computers, typing quickly.

Sam breathed a sigh of relief as she looked closely at each camera view. The cameras showed the eight captive women, still gagged and bound, but still women, in a tiny cell of their own. Clover and Alex were among them, still female.

She took back her sigh when she turned back to Gabriel. It was unfair of her father to do that to her.

"It's simple," Gabriel said, her gaze still on the screen. Sam came over, and looked past her shoulder, but it all looked like gibberish science to her. And that was saying something chilling.

"we just have tae reverse the polarity of the gel solvent, and then the catalyst core is destroyed. It'll be rendered harmless," she stated.

"how did you figure that out?" Gabriel grinned coldly without looking at her.

"have it happen tae ye, and you'll understand. Otherwise, it's just nonsense that a madman worked out." She typed again, closing the window. A map of the facility was called up, a red block stating where the power supply was in relation to them.

"shit!"

"what?" Sam asked anxiously.

"the bastard's routed the entire thing tae run under the interface tank. We'd have tae go there directly and disrupt the gas supply. And by the look of things, we've just run out of time." Sam's eyes snapped up to the monitors.

All the cells were empty.

Gabriel tossed her an automatic and extra magazine.

* * *

INTERFACE TANK, LAB #041, UNKNOWN TIME

"right on time, my girl," Gabriel's father stated. She kept the gun trained on him. Sam kept her eyes on the guards, the automatic out and unfamiliar in her hands. She wished she knew more of Gabriel's plan. All she had told her was to take care of the guards and the captives, and that she would take care of her father and the interface tank. Luckily, the guards looked terrified at the prospect of the gun pointed at their leader.

Sam made her way to where Clover and Alex were tied up. One of the guards suddenly shot for her. she heard a sudden bang and watched as he fell to the ground screaming, blood gushing from his knee. She looked over at Gabriel and saw the smoke rising from the barrel. Gabriel's eyes… they were cracked, trapped like a wild animal. She had fired the shot.

She quickly untied her friends. They looked at her fuzzily, but alert. They didn't question her about Gabriel, and she hoped they never would.

"untie the rest and get out of here. take the guards. Follow the tracker signal." They nodded at her and set to work on the other female prisoners. Sam made her way to the only male prisoner. Shock ran up her spine. It was Gabriel's mother, Jeanie King. But she had been changed, just like Gabriel said.

"I'm afraid that you're making me proud, my girl. A little too late, isn't it?" Gabriel's father said snidely. Sam heard the cock of the gun.

"I'll never be like ye, _Da_, " her disgust emphasized on the 'Da'. She untied him hurriedly. He looked at her with eyes thankful. He moved with Sam along the line of desks, in line with Gabriel's father.

"oh, but it's still too late. You can never go back, and neither can your mother."

"an empty threat, old man. I know how this all works, it cannae never be irreversible." Her father shook his head sadly.

"poor, young, little girl. Don't you see? That's why I gave you that chance in the beginning, so you could grow into my expectations. But you've failed me, I see. I've had four years to tweak at my formulae." Fear sparked in Gabriel's eyes. The gun shook in her hands.

"you're lying."

"I'm not. And I do feel some sort of sadness for you. I saw how you defended that redhead. Tell me, does it feel good to know you can never have a chance with her again?" blood suddenly began to soak his upper thigh. Sam hadn't even heard the shot.

"dunnae test me, Da!" he grinned at her wickedly.

"poor little thing. You've lost your mother and your girlfriend all in one day. How does it feel?" with a bang, his other thigh began to bleed out and he fell kneeling to the ground.

"ma!" Jeanie King rose from his hiding place and walked to his daughter. She motioned to the tank.

"get in. I still have the first change in my blood." Jeanie looked to his daughter. Sam could see him analyzing the eyes. Without a protest, she climbed into the tank. Sam came out as well, keeping her gun trained on Gabriel's father as Gabriel changed the commands on the computer. There was a loud hiss as the gas pumped in the gel solvent. The hair rose on Sam's neck as the electricity built up and then exploded in the liquid. Just as soon as the energy in the tank began to reach a crescendo, it dissipated, leaving behind a soaking wet female Jeanie King. Sam helped her to climb out.

"faster than before, hey Da?" Gabriel's father gaped at her in horror.

"I should never have changed you. you're too…" she looked at him, her eyes turned to ice.

"what, Da?" she never got an answer. He tore something from his coat and Gabriel's eyes filled with fear. He aimed the gun at the tank, and, as if in slow motion, the bullet shot from the barrel, aiming towards the still sparking liquid.

"Sam, run!" Gabriel screamed out, running for her. Jeanie and Sam had just begun to when the unstable force of electricity and gas exploded behind them, sending them careening into the passage the others had escaped into. bits of computer, furniture and wall rained down on them. Sam struggled from under an overturned desk, hearing the groaning of Jeanie farther along, where the debris was much less. She looked back into the smoke, only able to see the dust and faint sparks of torn power cables. Her heart cracked.

"GABRIEL!"

**To be continued…**


	6. Chapter 5

Nothing I Expected

* * *

Disclaimer: Manhattan productions are the sole owner and distributor of Totally Spies.

Disclaimer: Concept, ideas and OCs all belong to me, UID 140135

* * *

_Chapter 5_

"Gabriel! Gabriel, answer me!" Sam screamed as she made her way through the rubble. pieces of the ceiling tumbled down as her scream reverberated through the loose concrete. One hand in front of her mouth, she slowly made her way to the glowing mass of cables, tripping over shadowed debris. Tears ran down her face, but not from the smoke.

"Gabriel!" she shrieked. A hand suddenly gripped her ankle, causing her to stumble and fall. She looked down and saw Gabriel's father looking up at her.

"why do you still…call her? you know what…she…will…become," he said faintly, before his grip slackened abruptly. His dead eyes looked up at her as the tears flowed more rapidly. She pried his fingers from her ankle, hysteria quickening her actions. She staggered up, her legs still weak from the blast.

"Gabriel! Please!" she wailed. A cable tore from the ceiling at the vibration of her call, sizzling with electricity. she barely had time to dive out of the way before someone yanked her out of its path. It crashed to the ground, exactly where she had been standing. Sparks flew harmlessly from the dying supply. She squinted around in the dusty area where she had been pulled to. Lying some feet away from her was-

"Gabriel!" she yelled. She was leaning up against a broken chunk of ceiling, her head hanging on the chest, her arms aimlessly at her sides. Sam scrambled over. Her hand was on Gabriel's shoulders and shaking her before she could raise her head slightly.

"not…so…hard," she wheezed. Sam grinned through her tears, containing her panic.

"Gabriel, why?" Sam didn't know to what question she was asking, but Gabriel answered her anyway.

"I…know…it's stupid, but...I…love…ye," she barely even whispered, before her head slumped

"Gabriel!" she cried out. Gabriel didn't respond and the despairing scream tore true from her throat. She put her head in Gabriel's lap, curling around her, sobbing helplessly. Everything was lost. She now knew, through all that happened, through all her denial of her rationality, of 'love at first sight' as some corny, lovesick idea…she knew. And she was helpless to change any of it. And it made her howl only the harder.

"Samantha, hang on, we're coming!"

* * *

WOOHP HQ PRIVATE I.C.U., USA, 05:03 AM, FRIDAY 21 JULY

Sam stirred as someone laid their hand on top of her head. She opened her eyes, not really connecting with reality. She was in a white, white room with glowing green screens all around her, a faint rhythmic beeping in the background. She was sitting up, but lying on her arms on a soft blanket. The she comprehended. She shot up, eyes intent on Gabriel, wincing as she sat up at the pain that must be going through her arm.

Instead, her eyes drank in Gabriel's frail form covered in wires and bandages, face covered in an oxygen mask, still unconscious. She turned her head and saw that it had been Jeanie King who had laid her hand on her head, waking her. She visibly deflated. Jeanie King took this in her stride as she pulled up a chair next to Sam's.

"I'm sorry tae have startled ye so," she apologized. She looked from Sam to Gabriel and then back to Sam.

"There's nigh tae do than wait, aye?" she asked Sam. Sam lowered her head in agreement.

"Gabriel will pull through. He's a warrior," she said softly. Sam looked back at her, not understanding the change in pronoun. Jeanie King saw this.

"Ye noticed? I've gotten so used tae it. Gabriel…well, he's nigh been my daughter for a long time now. Might I tell ye something, Samantha?" Sam said nothing, Jeanie continued nonetheless.

"When Gabriel was changed, I didnae accept him for a long time. I refused tae comprehend it, and I fought it all I could. I thought he had become his Da, in all his blood and reincarnation. But, my son," she nodded to herself, as if finally acknowledging a truth, "my son, he was never his Da. And he would never be. And then, and then," she said, leaning forward, taking Sam's hand in her hands, "I saw him against his Da yesterday. I saw him with ye. And I know this sounds all so sappy, like I should be in a black and white film, but I know this: he was never meant tae be my daughter. And may it be I'm telling ye something you've been grappling with and come tae a decision about, or you've already decided, but I know. He cares for ye. And may it be there's something more." Jeanie King shook her head at her babbling. She got up to leave, leaving Sam leaning on the bed and waiting. She left Sam with a last thought.

"Be his warrior queen. You're what he's pulling through for." She left, a tear trickling down her cheek.

* * *

WOOHP HQ PRIVATE I.C.U., USA, 23:58 PM, SATURDAY 22 JULY

Jerry had finally ushered Sam into a bed of her own, although it was still in the same room as Gabriel. Gabriel's brainwaves had slipped into non-REM sleep, a vast improvement, but Sam had been asleep when it had happened. He thought to not wake her. And then while Jeanie King was sitting up with her, Gabriel had woken up.

"Ma?" she whispered, barely above the whine of the air-conditioner. Jeanie clutched at her hand as she smiled tearfully.

"Gabby. Gods, how ye feeling?" she asked quietly.

"I'm- Sam, where's Sam, did she make it, is she alright, is she-" she struggled upright with panic. Her mother tried to push her down.

"She's alright Gabriel, thanks tae ye. She's sleeping in the other bed, dunnae wake her." Gabriel flopped back down, relief awash in every feature. Her mother looked at her, one hand across her daughter's chest. Her daughter's chest. She sighed inwardly.

"Gabriel. Have ye looked at yourself since the change?"

"Da made me."

"And?" Gabriel was silent. "Gabby?"

"Fine, ma, I hate myself! Happy now?"

"Nay, ye know I'm not."

"Then why did ye ask me?" this time her mother was silent. "Ma? What?"

"You're eighteen tomorrow."

"And?"

"Legally, in the states, I have nigh a say…what I mean tae say, is that you're legally, but technically, an adult in America."

"Ma, spill what ye have tae say, I'm already in physical pain."

"Ye can choose."  
"What do ye mean, 'I can choose'?"

"you're nigh going tae like this, but here it is: when ye were in ye male body, I took sperm samples."  
"Gods Ma, follow down the path of Da, why dunnae ye?"

"Hush Gabby. The truth is, ye can be biologically male, if ye really want."

Complete, utter silence.

"What?"

"No-one knows this, but that first machine of your Da's, is still in working order. I'm the only one that knows of it. Ye are the only one who can work it."

"Ma… ye mean…?"

"I know ye, my child. I know ye. And I've learnt a little of Sam, and I know her a bit too." Gabriel was as still as a living statue. As her mother got up to leave, she weakly grabbed her wrist.

"Ma."

"Aye?"

"What has sperm got tae do with anything?"

"Just in case, Gabby. Just in case she's the one." Gabriel blushed.

* * *

WOOHP HQ PRIVATE I.C.U., USA, 00:12 AM, SUNDAY 23 JULY

"Sam? Sam, are ye asleep?" Sam rubbed her eyes and then realized who the voice belong to. She yelped, tripping over the sheets in her hurry to go to the other bed.

"Dunnae kill yourself now. I've already saved ye twice."

"Gabriel, oh god, Gabriel, you're all right!" Sam cried happily. Gabriel touched a droplet trickling down.

"silly things, tears, aren't they?" before Gabriel could make another comment, Sam had bent down and crushed her lips against hers. Gabriel was frozen in shock for a minute before she realized what was happening. Then she responded. She pressed against Sam, pulling her closer, urging Sam next to her. It was a desperate, hot kiss, but like before: velvet across silk. This time it was Gabriel that brought her hands up to Sam's face, and Sam grabbed them before they could go any further. They both pulled back for air, Sam's red hair hanging around Gabriel's head like a halo. She smiled down at her before coming down again, holding her hands at her waist while she showed even more passion than the second. They opened their mouths at the exact same instant, and bliss bubbled up and down their spines as their tongues became acquainted. They pulled apart again, their lungs dragging for air.

"…gods…" Gabriel finally managed to say. Sam's smile turned serious.

"I finally understood something. Gabriel, when you were caught in the explosion, and you pulled me out of the way of the falling cable… I knew. What you said, it wasn't stupid. Because I feel it too. Love at first sight, it means our souls are connected. I love all of you; I don't care if you're in a male or female body. I don't care that I've never had feelings for another girl before," she said, eyeing Gabriel's chest and then back to her face. She leaned closer.

"I." a kiss on Gabriel's forehead.

"love." A kiss on Gabriel's nose.

"you." A kiss on Gabriel's mouth that lingered longer than it should have for an ICU patient.

* * *

WOOHP HQ PRIVATE I.C.U., USA, 10:00 AM, SUNDAY 23 JULY

When the nurses finally left, when Jerry and Jeanie King had finally left, when all the women they had saved had finally left, when Clover and Alex had finally left, still ignorant that Gabriel was female instead of male, they were _finally_ left _alone_.

Gabriel was now rid of a few of the wires and pipes, so there was room for Sam to lie next to her. both of them were comfortable in the silence, Sam beginning to doze off.

"Sam?" Gabriel said softly.

"yeah?" she said, shifting her to face Gabriel, awake now.

"I have something tae tell ye. And… and well, it might not be tae your liking." Sam put her head on her outstretched arm for more leverage, waiting. Gabriel grimaced inwardly.

"I've always like girls." No response. She tried again.

"I mean, I've never felt anything towards a boy. My first crush was a girl in third grade. And I've never felt comfortable in a girl's body, everything just felt…wrong. Ye know?" Sam kept quiet, still waiting.

"when my Da changed me, I felt relieved. Now, I could like a girl and she could like me back, without any horrible power coming down on my head. I was finally at peace with myself." She stroked a hand across Sam's hair. Sam leant into it, but no further.

"what are you trying to say to me, Gabriel?"

"I want tae go back. My Da's first machine still exists, and my ma has given her blessing tae what I choose." She blushed red at her mother's last comment.

"but I'm afraid. Afraid that I'll turn intae my Da, that we'll never work out, that ye won't love me anymore…" Sam brought a finger to her lips.

"sshhh, Gabriel. I'll always love you, I highly doubt that that can change now. but," Sam propped herself up with her elbow. "are you sure that you're doing this for yourself? That you're not doing it out of any fear that I'll realize someday that I don't actually like girls, and this is some kind of insurance?" Gabriel turned her head away from Sam for a minute, then turned back.

"I don't want tae lose ye. But I don't want tae hate myself for the rest of our lives." Sam smiled, kissing her on the cheek.

"then you've made your decision. And I don't love you any less."

**To be continued…**


	7. Epilogue

Nothing I Expected

* * *

Disclaimer: Manhattan productions are the sole owner and distributor of Totally Spies.

Disclaimer: Concept, ideas and OCs all belong to me, UID 140135

* * *

_Epilogue_

KING RESIDENCE, GABRIEL'S ROOM, 22:04 PM, SATURDAY 2 DECEMBER

"are ye sure ye want tae do this?"

Silence.

* * *

"Gabriel, what are you doing? What are you…oh my God."

"what's your answer, Sam? Do ye will it?"

Tears trickled from her eyes as Gabriel knelt before her; a simple silver ring with a small diamond in the centre, finely engraved vines emanating from the diamond outwards.

"it belongs tae the King family. My ma has given her blessing. Sam, do ye will it?"

"oh gods, Gabriel…Yes, yes I will it!" she cried happily as it was gently spun it on her finger.

He rose, keeping her hand in his hand. He leaned in, gently capturing her lips with his, and velvet met silk once again. They were taken with each-other, so enchanted that when Jeanie King opened the door to give her congratulations, they didn't even notice. An ecstatic but embarrassed blush on her face, she slipped out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Gabriel leaned in lower, tenderly pushing Sam against his bed. Her back against the covers, his arms bracing himself above, he looked down at her.

"my wife."

"my husband."

Gabriel kissed her into silence.

**The End**


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